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'''Ouija''' ([[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA pronunciation]]: {{IPA|[ˈwi.dʒi]}} or {{IPA|[ˈwi.dʒə]}}) [Or more simply, 'wee-jee' or 'wee-ja'] refers to the belief that one can receive messages during a [[séance]] by the use of a '''Ouija board''' (also called a '''talking board''' or '''spirit board''') and [[planchette]]. The fingers of the participants are placed on the planchette which then moves about a board covered with numbers, letters and symbols so as to spell out messages.
{{Short description|Flat board for communicating with spirits}}
{{Redirect|Ouija board|the horse|Ouija Board (horse)|other uses|Ouija (disambiguation)}}
{{Distinguish|Ouida}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}}
[[File:Ouija board - Kennard Novelty Company.png|thumb|An original Ouija board created {{circa|1890}}]]
[[File:Norman Rockwell Ouija board painting.jpg|thumb|[[Norman Rockwell]] cover of the May 1, 1920 issue of ''The Saturday Evening Post'', showing a Ouija board in use]]
{{Spiritualism sidebar|related}}
The '''Ouija''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|w|iː|dʒ|ə|audio=LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Ouija.wav}} {{respell|WEE|jə}}, {{IPAc-en|-|dʒ|i}} {{respell|-|jee}}), also known as a '''Ouija board''', '''spirit board''', '''talking board''', or '''witch board''', is a flat board marked with the letters of the [[Latin alphabet]], the numbers 0–9, the words "yes", "no", and occasionally "hello" and "goodbye", along with various symbols and graphics. It uses a [[planchette]] (a small heart-shaped piece of wood or plastic) as a movable indicator to spell out messages during a [[séance]]. Participants place their fingers on the planchette, and it is moved about the board to spell out words. The name "Ouija" is a [[trademark]] of [[Hasbro]]<ref name=uspto1>{{US trademark|71546217}}</ref> (inherited from [[Parker Brothers]]), but is often used [[generic trademark|generically]] to refer to any talking board.
 
[[Spiritualism (movement)|Spiritualists]] in the [[United States]] believed that the dead were able to contact the living, and reportedly used a talking board very similar to the modern Ouija board at their camps in [[Ohio]] during 1886 with the intent of enabling faster communication with spirits.<ref name="Rodriguez McRobbie 2013" /> Following its commercial patent by businessman [[Elijah Bond]] being passed on 10 February 1891,<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 17, 2018 |title=The Bel Air native who patented the Ouija Board |url=https://www.dyingtotelltheirstories.com/home/2018/1/17/o1pscnzwz19xc77eyneqk6ura56xma#:~:text=After%20graduation%2C%20Elijah%20opened%20a,%2C%20granted%20February%2010%2C%201891. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231104181546/https://www.dyingtotelltheirstories.com/home/2018/1/17/o1pscnzwz19xc77eyneqk6ura56xma |archive-date=4 November 2023 |access-date=23 July 2024 |website=Dying to tell their stories}}</ref> the Ouija board was regarded as an innocent parlor game unrelated to the occult until American spiritualist [[Pearl Curran]] popularized its use as a divining tool during [[World War I]].<ref name="Brunvand 2006">{{cite book |chapter=Ouija |page=534 | last=Brunvand | first=Jan Harold | title=American folklore: An encyclopedia | publisher=Taylor & Francis | year=2006 |orig-year=1996 | isbn=978-1-135-57877-0 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2XGPAgAAQBAJ}}</ref>
Ouija is a trademark for a talking board currently sold by [[Parker Brothers]]. While the word is not a [[genericized trademark]], it has become a [[List of proprietary eponyms based on active trademarks|trademark which is often used generically]] to refer to any talking board.
 
[[Paranormal]] and [[supernatural]] beliefs associated with Ouija have been criticized by the scientific community and are characterized as [[pseudoscience]]. The action of the board can be most easily explained by unconscious movements of those controlling the pointer, a [[Psychophysiology|psychophysiological]] phenomenon known as the [[ideomotor effect]].<ref name="Rodriguez McRobbie 2013" /><ref name="Heap 2002">{{cite book |last=Heap |first=Michael |date=2002-11-14 |chapter=Ideomotor Effect (the Ouija Board Effect) |pages=127–129 |editor-last=Shermer | editor-first=Michael |editor-link=Michael Shermer | title=The Skeptic Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience | publisher=ABC-CLIO | isbn=1-57607-654-7}}</ref><ref name="Adams">{{cite web|url=http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1798/how-does-a-ouija-board-work|title=How does a Ouija board work?|last=Adams|first=Cecil|author2=Ed Zotti|date=3 July 2000|publisher=The Straight Dope|access-date=6 July 2010}}</ref><ref name="Skepdic">{{cite web|url=http://skepdic.com/ouija.html|title=Ouija board|last=Carroll|first=Robert T.|date=2009-10-31|publisher=Skeptic's Dictionary|access-date=6 July 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | last=French | first=Chris | author-link=Chris French | title=The unseen force that drives Ouija boards and fake bomb detectors | work=The Guardian | date=27 April 2013 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/apr/27/ouija-boards-dowsing-rods-bomb-detectors | access-date=16 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191224232116/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/apr/27/ouija-boards-dowsing-rods-bomb-detectors |archive-date=24 December 2019}}</ref>
[[Image:English ouija board.jpg|thumb|A typical Ouija board]]
 
Mainstream [[Christian denomination]]s, including [[Catholicism]], have warned against the use of Ouija boards, considering their use in [[Theistic Satanism|Satanic]] practices, while other religious groups hold that they can lead to [[demonic possession]].<ref name="Ellis 2000">{{cite book | last=Ellis | first=Bill | date=2000 | title=Raising the Devil: Satanism, New Religions, and the Media | publisher=University Press of Kentucky | isbn=978-0-8131-2682-1 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oLcqlypMCe8C&pg=PA65 | access-date=16 October 2023 | page=65 |quote= Practically since its invention a century ago, mainstream Christian religions, including Catholicism, have warned against using Ouija boards, claiming that they are a means of dabbling with Satanism (Hunt 1985:93–95). Occultists are divided on the Ouija board's value. Jane Roberts (1966) and Gina Covina (1979) express confidence that it is a device for positive transformation and they provide detailed instructions on how to use it to contact spirits and map the other world. But some occultists have echoed Christian warnings, cautioning inexperienced persons away from it.}}</ref><ref name="Carlisle2009">{{cite book|last=Carlisle|first=Rodney P.|title=Encyclopedia of Play in Today's Society|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaplay00carl|url-access=limited|date=2009|publisher=Sage Publications|isbn=978-1412966702|page=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaplay00carl/page/n473 434]|quote=In particular, Ouija boards and automatic writing are kin in that they can be practiced and explained both by parties who see them as instruments of psychological discovery; and both are abhorred by some religious groups as gateways to demonic possession, as the abandonment of will and invitation to external forces represents for them an act much like presenting an open wound to a germ-filled environment.}}</ref> [[Occultists]], on the other hand, are divided on the issue, with some claiming it can be a tool for positive transformation, while others reiterate the warnings of many Christians and caution "inexperienced users" against it.<ref name="Ellis 2000"/>
==Etymology==
The term "Ouija" is derived from the [[French language|French]] "oui" (for "yes") and the [[German language|German]]/[[Dutch language|Dutch]] "ja" (also for "yes"). An alternative story suggests the name was revealed to inventor Charles Kennard during a Ouija séance and was claimed to be an [[Ancient Egyptian]] word meaning "good luck," although this is known to be incorrect. It has also been suggested the word was inspired by the name of the [[Morocco|Moroccan]] city [[Oujda]].
 
==Etymology==
Despite its common usage, "Ouija" is a [[registered trademark]].
The popular belief that the word ''{{linktext|Ouija}}'' comes from the French (''oui'') and German (''ja'') words for ''yes'' is a misconception. In fact, the name was given from a word spelled out on the board when medium [[Helen Peters Nosworthy]] asked the board to name itself. When asked what the word meant, it responded "Good Luck".<ref name="Rodriguez McRobbie 2013">{{cite magazine | last=Rodriguez McRobbie | first=Linda | title=The Strange and Mysterious History of the Ouija Board | magazine=Smithsonian Magazine | date=27 October 2013 | url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-strange-and-mysterious-history-of-the-ouija-board-5860627/ | access-date=16 October 2023}}</ref><ref name="Woods 2016">{{cite news | last=Woods | first=Baynard | title=The Ouija board's mysterious origins: War, spirits, and a strange death | work=The Guardian | date=30 October 2016 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/oct/30/ouija-board-mystery-history | access-date=16 October 2023}}</ref>
 
==History==
===Precursors===
The first historical mention of something resembling a Ouija board is found in [[China]] around 1200 BC, the use of the board is known as Fu Ji (扶乩). According to a French historical account of the [[philosopher]], in 540BC his sect would conduct [[seances]] at "a mystic table, moving on wheels, moved towards signs, which the philosopher and his pupil, [[Philolaus]], interpreted to the audience as being revelations supposedly from an unseen world." <ref>Melton, J. Gordon (1996). Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology (4th ed.). Gale Research. ISBN 0-8103-9487-1</ref>
[[File:Group of model figures showing a worshipper. Wellcome L0004641.jpg|thumb|A model of a scene depicting divination]]
[[File:Changchun-Temple-Master-and-disciples-painting-0316.jpg|thumb|[[Wang Chongyang]], founder of the [[Quanzhen School]], depicted in [[Changchun Temple]], [[Wuhan]]]]
 
One of the first mentions of the [[automatic writing]] method used in the Ouija board is found in [[China]] around 1100 AD, in historical documents of the [[Song dynasty]]. The method was known as [[fuji (planchette writing)|''fuji'']] "planchette writing". The use of planchette writing as an ostensible means of [[necromancy]] and communion with the spirit-world continued, and, albeit under special rituals and supervisions, was a central practice of the [[Quanzhen School]], until it was forbidden by the [[Qing dynasty]].<ref>Silvers, Brock. ''The Taoist Manual'' (Honolulu: Sacred Mountain Press, 2005), pp. 129–132.</ref>
Popular modern use of the talking boards came with the [[Spiritualism]] movement in [[The United States]] in the mid-[[19th century]]. Methods of [[divination]] at that time used various ways to spell out messages, including swinging a [[pendulum]] over a plate that had letters around the edge or using an entire table to indicate letters drawn on the floor. Often used was a small wooden tablet supported on casters. This tablet, called a planchette, was affixed with a pencil that would write out messages in a fashion similar to [[automatic writing]]. These methods may predate modern Spiritualism.
 
===Talking boards===
During the late [[1800s]], planchettes were widely sold as a novelty. In [[1890]], businessmen [[Elijah Bond]] and Charles Kennard had the idea to [[patent]] a planchette sold with a board on which the alphabet was printed, and thus had invented the first Ouija board. Bond was an attorney and inventor of other objects. An employee of Kennard, [[William Fuld]] took over the talking board production and in [[1901]], he started production of his own boards under the name "Ouija" * [http://www.museumoftalkingboards.com/history.html].
As a part of the [[Spiritualism (movement)|spiritualist]] movement, mediums began to employ various means for communication with the dead. Following the [[American Civil War]] in the [[United States]], mediums did significant business in allegedly allowing survivors to contact lost relatives. Use of talking boards was so common by 1886 that news reported the phenomenon taking over the spiritualists' camps in [[Ohio]].<ref name="Rodriguez McRobbie 2013" /> The Ouija was named in 1890 in [[Baltimore|Baltimore, Maryland]] by medium and spiritualist [[Helen Peters Nosworthy]].<ref name="Woods 2016" />
 
===Commercial parlor game===
The Fuld name would become synonymous with the Ouija board, as Fuld reinvented its history, claiming that he himself had invented it. Countless talking boards from Fuld's competitors flooded the market and all these boards enjoyed a heyday from the [[1920s]] through the [[1960s]]. Fuld sued many companies over the "Ouija" name and concept right up until his death in [[1927]]. In [[1966]], Fuld's estate sold the entire business to Parker Brothers, who continues to hold all trademarks and patents. About 10 brands of talking boards are sold today under various names [http://museumoftalkingboards.com/new.html].
Charles Kennard, the founder of Kennard Novelty Company, claims to have invented the board with his business partner, [[Elijah Bond]], who patented it with help from his sister-in-law, spiritualist and medium [[Helen Peters Nosworthy]].{{sfn|Cornelius|2005|pages=20–21}} The local patent office at first refused a patent. Bond and Nosworthy then traveled to [[Washington, D.C.]] where they were also denied a patent until the chief patent officer asked the board to spell out his name, which it did.<ref>{{cite web | date=22 September 2018 | title=Helen Peters Nosworthy | publication-place=Pinehurst, Massachusetts, USA | publisher=Talking Board Historical Society | url=https://tbhs.org/helen-peters-nosworthy/ | access-date=16 October 2023 | archive-date=7 October 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231007160331/https://tbhs.org/helen-peters-nosworthy/ | url-status=dead }}</ref>
In 1901, an employee of Bond, [[William Fuld]], took over the talking board production under the name "Ouija".<ref>{{cite web |last=Orlando |first=Eugene |title=Ancient Ouija Boards: Fact or Fiction? |url=http://www.museumoftalkingboards.com/ancient.html |work=Museum of Talking Boards |access-date=24 April 2012}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=October 2023}}<!-- Only version I see that mentions Fuld is https://web.archive.org/web/20000817205556/http://www.museumoftalkingboards.com/ancient.html but it just says that he mass-marketed it. -->
 
==Scientific investigation==
==Usage==
{{Multiple image
{{Unreferenced|date=February 2007}}
| align =
A Ouija board is operated by one or more users. They place the planchette on the board and then rest their fingers on the planchette. The users start by moving the planchette around the board and speaking to the entity (or entities) they wish to summon; they then begin asking questions of it. Eventually the planchette will come to rest on one letter after another, spelling out a message. Often an additional participant records the messages on paper.
| direction = vertical
| width =
| image1 = Experimental setup to test ouija board.png
| caption1 = Experimental setup with [[eye tracking]]
| image2 = Experimental setup to test ouija board 2.png
| caption2 = Video capture of experiment<ref name="eyegaze">{{Cite journal|last1=Andersen|first1=Marc|last2=Nielbo|first2=Kristoffer L.|last3=Schjoedt|first3=Uffe|last4=Pfeiffer|first4=Thies|last5=Roepstorff|first5=Andreas|last6=Sørensen|first6=Jesper|date=2018-07-17|title=Predictive minds in Ouija board sessions|journal=Phenomenology and the Cognitive Sciences|volume=18|issue=3|pages=577–588|language=en|doi=10.1007/s11097-018-9585-8|s2cid=150336658|issn=1572-8676|doi-access=free}}</ref>
}}
 
The Ouija phenomenon is considered by the scientific community to be the result of the [[Ideomotor phenomenon|ideomotor response]].<ref name="Heap 2002"/><ref name="lab">{{cite journal |last=Burgess |first=Cheryl A |author2=Irving Kirsch |author3=Howard Shane |author4=Kristen L. Niederauer |author5=Steven M. Graham |author6=Alyson Bacon |title=Facilitated Communication as an Ideomotor Response |journal=Psychological Science |volume=9 |issue=1 |page=71 |publisher=Blackwell Publishing |jstor=40063250 |doi=10.1111/1467-9280.00013|year=1998 |s2cid=145631775 }}</ref><ref name="ubc_gauchou">{{cite journal | last1=Gauchou | first1=Hélène L. | last2=Rensink | first2=Ronald A. | last3=Fels | first3=Sidney | title=Expression of nonconscious knowledge via ideomotor actions | journal=Consciousness and Cognition | publisher=Elsevier | volume=21 | issue=2 | year=2012 | issn=1053-8100 | doi=10.1016/j.concog.2012.01.016 | pages=976–982 | pmid=22377138 | s2cid=5728755 |url=https://philarchive.org/archive/GAUEON}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last=Shenefelt | first=Philip D. | title=Ideomotor Signaling: From Divining Spiritual Messages to Discerning Subconscious Answers during Hypnosis and Hypnoanalysis, a Historical Perspective | journal=American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis | publisher=Informa UK | volume=53 | issue=3 | year=2011 | issn=0002-9157 | doi=10.1080/00029157.2011.10401754 | pages=157–167| pmid=21404952 | s2cid=19324123 }}</ref> [[Michael Faraday]] first [[scientific experiment|described]] this effect in 1853, while investigating [[table-turning]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Faraday |first=Michael |title=Experimental investigation of table-moving |journal=Journal of the Franklin Institute |year=1853 |volume=56 |issue=5 |pages=328–333 |doi=10.1016/S0016-0032(38)92173-8|pmid=38210912 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1428516 |pmc=10444352 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite EB1911|last=Podmore |first=Frank |wstitle=Table-turning |volume=26 |p=337}}</ref>
Some talking boards have words or phrases written on them to simplify the interpretation of the messages.They may use a sheet of paper with the [[alphabet]] written on it or lettered cards placed around a table, together with an object like an overturned glass or [[coin]] as the indicator. Hand-made Ouija boards produced by artists are valued by talking board enthusiasts and [[collectors]].
 
Various studies have been conducted, recreating the effects of the Ouija board in the lab and showing that, under laboratory conditions, the subjects were moving the planchette involuntarily.<ref name="lab"/><ref>{{cite news |last=Garrow |first=Hattie Brown |title=Suffolk's Lakeland High teens find their own answers |newspaper=The Virginian-Pilot |date=1 December 2008 |url=http://hamptonroads.com/2008/11/suffolks-lakeland-high-teens-find-their-own-answers |access-date=28 October 2014 |archive-date=29 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141029002323/http://hamptonroads.com/2008/11/suffolks-lakeland-high-teens-find-their-own-answers |url-status=dead }}</ref> A 2012 study found that when answering yes or no questions, Ouija use was significantly more accurate than guesswork, suggesting that it might draw on the unconscious mind.<ref name="ubc_gauchou"/> Skeptics have described Ouija board users as "operators".<ref>{{cite news |last=Dickerson |first=Brian |title=Crying rape through a Ouija board |work=Detroit Free Press |publisher=Gannett |date=6 February 2008 |page=B1 |url=http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080206/COL04/802060366/1081|url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141029004650/http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080206/COL04/802060366/1081 |archive-date=2014-10-29 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Some critics have noted that the messages ostensibly spelled out by spirits were similar to whatever was going through the minds of the subjects such as where a knife was hidden in the room by one of the participants.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Tucker |first=Milo Asem |title=Comparative Observations on the Involuntary Movements of Adults and Children |journal=The American Journal of Psychology |volume=8 |issue=3 |page=402 |publisher=University of Illinois Press |date=Apr 1897 |doi=10.2307/1411486 |jstor=1411486 }}</ref><ref name="SI_Ouija">{{cite web|last1=Vyse |first1=Stuart |authorlink1=Stuart Vyse |title=How Does the Ouija Board Work? |url=https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/how-does-the-ouija-board-work/ |website=SkepticalInquirer.org |date=29 July 2024 |publisher=Skeptical Inquirer |access-date=8 May 2025}}</ref> In one study, researchers used cameras to monitor the eye movements of board users, noting eye direction predicted where the board would go in what the researchers called "voluntary conditions."<ref name="SI_Ouija"/> According to professor of neurology [[Terence Hines]] in his book ''Pseudoscience and the Paranormal'' (2003):<ref>[[Terence Hines|Hines, Terence]]. (2003). ''Pseudoscience and the Paranormal''. Prometheus Books. p. 47. {{ISBN|1-57392-979-4}}</ref>
Many users feel that they are communicating with a [[spirit]] who is controlling their motions to guide their hands, spelling out messages. They see the board as a tool or [[Medium (spirituality)|medium]] through which they communicate with the spirit realm. These believers often take offense at the dismissal of the talking board as merely a [[game]]. Other users contend that they are in control of their own actions, but that the talking board allows communication with their inner [[psychic]] voice or [[unconscious_mind|unconscious]].
 
<blockquote>The planchette is guided by unconscious muscular exertions like those responsible for table movement. Nonetheless, in both cases, the illusion that the object (table or planchette) is moving under its own control is often extremely powerful and sufficient to convince many people that spirits are truly at work ... The unconscious muscle movements responsible for the moving tables and Ouija board phenomena seen at seances are examples of a class of phenomena due to what psychologists call a dissociative state. A dissociative state is one in which consciousness is somehow divided or cut off from some aspects of the individual's normal cognitive, motor, or sensory functions.</blockquote>
Some proponents of Ouija boards claim the activity is harmless fun. Others believe that they are communicating with spiritual entities but there is no harm in doing so provided that basic guidelines are followed. These rules often vary from user to user, but usually include things like never playing alone, beginning and ending a séance "properly", and always using the board in a "comfortable" environment. Numerous [[superstition]]s surround Ouija board use, including the alleged indestructiveness of the board.
 
Some involuntary movements are known as "Automatism".<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Wegner |first=Daniel |chapter=An Analysis of Automatism |title=The Illusion of Conscious Will |publisher=The MIT Press |year=2018 |___location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |pages=99–144}}</ref>
The accepted theory is that the participants are unconsciously making small, involuntary, physical movements using a well-known, and well-understood, phenomenon called the [[Ideomotor effect]]. This effect is helped by involuntary twitches common at the sensitive nerve endings in the thumbs. Experiments consistently suggest that, at best, the messages are received involuntarily from the participants themselves, and, at worst, by a manipulative player, possibly with the connivance of confederates within the group present.
 
This correlates with the ideomotor phenomenon because both rely on unconscious movement. The difference is that the ideomotor phenomenon is based on the idea that just the idea that something can happen tricks the brain into doing it. For example, thinking about not moving the planchette leads to the possibility of the planchette moving, which then makes someone unconsciously move the planchette.<ref name=":0" /> Studies also show a strong correlation between action of the board and prior belief in its authenticity.<ref name="SI_Ouija"/>
Skeptic and magician [[James Randi]], in his book ''An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural'', points out that when blindfolded, Ouija board operators are unable to produce intelligible messages. Magicians [[Penn & Teller]] performed a similar demonstration in an episode of their television show ''[[Bullshit!]]'' in which the operators moved the planchette into what they thought was the positions of "yes" and "no" without knowing that the board was turned upside-down, which caused them to move the planchette into blank spaces on the board.
 
Ouija boards were already criticized by scholars early on, being described in a 1927 journal as {{"'}}vestigial remains' of primitive belief-systems" and a con to part fools from their money.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Howerth |first=I. W. |title=Science and Religion |magazine=[[The Scientific Monthly]] |volume=25 |issue=2 |page=151 |publisher=American Association for the Advancement of Science |date=Aug 1927 |jstor=7828}}</ref> Another 1921 journal described reports of Ouija board findings as 'half truths' and suggested that their inclusion in national newspapers at the time lowered the national discourse overall.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Lloyd |first=Alfred H. |title=Newspaper Conscience--A Study in Half-Truths |journal=The American Journal of Sociology |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages=198–205 |publisher=The University of Chicago Press |date=Sep 1921 |jstor=2764824 |doi=10.1086/213304|doi-access=free }}</ref>
However, it should be noted that those who believe Ouija boards can be used to make actual contact with the spirit world feel that the act of hindering a medium’s ability to use his or her own eyes while the board is in use effectively places too great of a handicap on the whole exercise. (This argument stems from the belief that contacted spirits actually utilize the eyes of the medium during a Ouija session in order to point to the letters and words needed to form a message. Most supporters of this theory believe that the board has no intrinsic power in and of itself, but rather, is used simply as a tool to aid a medium while in communication with the spirit world.) [http://www.museumoftalkingboards.com/theories.html]
 
==Religious responses==
==Criticism of Ouija boards==
{{Further|Christian views on magic}}
Although Ouija boards are viewed by some to be a simple toy, there are people who believe they can be harmful, including [[Edgar Cayce]], who called them "dangerous."<ref>''An American Prophet'', Sidney D. Kirkpatrick, Riverhead Books, 2000</ref> Critics warn that "evil demons" pretend to be cooperative [[ghosts]] in order to trick players into becoming [[spiritual possession|spiritually possessed]].
Since early in the Ouija board's history, it has been criticized by several [[Christianity|Christian]] denominations.<ref name="Ellis 2000"/> The [[Catholic Church]] in the [[Catechism of the Catholic Church]] explicitly forbids any practice of divination, which includes the usage of Ouija boards.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://aleteia.org/2020/10/28/the-spiritual-dangers-of-playing-with-a-ouija-board |last=Kosloski |first=Philip |date=28 October 2020 |title=The spiritual dangers of playing with a Ouija board |work=[[Aleteia]] |access-date=9 February 2021}}</ref> ''[[Catholic Answers]]'', a Roman Catholic [[Christian apologetics]] organization, claims that "The Ouija board is far from harmless, as it is a form of divination (seeking information from supernatural sources)."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.catholic.com/qa/are-ouija-boards-harmless|title=Are Ouija boards harmless? |year=2011 |work=[[Catholic Answers]] |access-date=25 August 2018}}</ref>
 
In 2005, Catholic [[bishop]]s in the [[Chuuk State]] of the [[Federated States of Micronesia]] called for the boards to be banned and warned congregations that they were talking to [[Demon#Christianity|demons]] when using Ouija boards.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Dernbach |first=Katherine Boris |title=Spirits of the Hereafter: Death, Funerary Possession, and the Afterlife in Chuuk, Micronesia |journal=Ethnology |volume=44 |issue=2 |pages=99–123 |___location=Pittsburgh |date=Spring 2005 |jstor=3773992 |doi=10.2307/3773992|doi-access=free }}</ref> In a 1995 [[pastoral letter]], The [[Free Reformed Churches of North America|Dutch Reformed Churches]] encouraged its communicants to avoid Ouija boards, as it is a practice "related to the occult".<ref>{{citation |author=Synod of the [[Free Reformed Churches of North America]] |date=March 1995 |url=http://frcna.org/messenger/item/7420-/7420-|title=Pastoral Letter Issued by the Free Reformed Churches of North America Out of concern for all confessing and baptized members|publisher=Synod of the Free Reformed Churches Publications Committee|language=en|access-date=8 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180308103247/http://frcna.org/messenger/item/7420-/7420- |archive-date=2018-03-08 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod]] forbids its faithful from using Ouija boards as a violation of the [[Ten Commandments]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.portagelutheranchurch.org/home/180011422/180011422/Images/January%20Newsletter-2016.pdf|title=What Does God Tell Us To Do In The Second Commandment?|last=Schultz|first=Scott|year=2016|publisher=[[Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod]]|page=3|language=en|access-date=8 March 2018|quote=A final way we misuse God's name is when we use any type of witchcraft such as crystal balls, Ouija boards, tarot cards, etc. Using these things are sinful because we are asking the devil to help us instead of God. In the Second Commandment God not only commands us not to do these things, but he also commands us to do certain things.|archive-date=8 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180308165144/http://www.portagelutheranchurch.org/home/180011422/180011422/Images/January%20Newsletter-2016.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Some practitioners claim to have had bad experiences related to the use of talking boards by being haunted by "demons," seeing apparitions of spirits, and hearing voices after using them. A few [[paranormal]] researchers, such as [[John Zaffis]], claim that the majority of the worst cases of so-called [[demon]] harassment and possession are caused by the use of Ouija boards. The American demonologists [[Ed and Lorraine Warren]], stated that "Ouija boards are just as dangerous as drugs."<ref>''Graveyard'' Ed and Lorraine Warren, 1992, pages 137-138</ref> They further state that "séances and Ouija boards and other occult paraphernalia are dangerous because 'evil spirits' often disguise themselves as your loved ones—and take over your life."<ref>''Graveyard'' Ed and Lorraine Warren, 1992, pages 137-138</ref>
 
In 2001, Ouija boards were burned in [[Alamogordo, New Mexico]], by [[fundamentalist]] groups as "symbols of witchcraft".<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Ishizuka |first=Kathy |title=Harry Potter book burning draws fire |magazine=School Library Journal |volume=48 |issue=2 |page=27 |___location=New York |date=1 February 2002 |url=http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2002/02/ljarchives/harry-potter-book-burning-draws-fire/ |access-date=28 October 2014 |archive-date=29 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141029020226/http://lj.libraryjournal.com/2002/02/ljarchives/harry-potter-book-burning-draws-fire/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Book banning spans the globe |work=Houston Chronicle |date=3 October 2002 |url=http://www.chron.com/life/article/Fresh-news-Book-banning-spans-the-globe-2111820.php}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=LaRocca |first=Lauren |title=The Potter phenomenon |work=The Frederick News-Post |date=13 July 2007 |url=http://www.fredericknewspost.com/archive/article_f5380cf1-5dc2-59ba-a3d3-713967b3d76b.html}}</ref> Religious criticism has expressed beliefs that the Ouija board reveals information which should only be in God's hands, and thus it is a tool of Satan.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Zyromski |first=Page McKean |title=Facts for Teaching about Halloween |magazine=Catechist Magazine |date=October 2006}}</ref> A spokesperson for [[Human Life International]] described the boards as a portal to talk to spirits and called for [[Hasbro]] to be prohibited from marketing them.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Smith |first=Hortense |title=Pink Ouija Board Declared 'A Dangerous Spiritual Game', Possibly Destroying Our Children |magazine=Jezebel |date=7 February 2010 |url=http://jezebel.com/5466214/pink-ouija-board-declared-a-dangerous-spiritual-game--possibly-destroying-our-children}}</ref>
In 1944, occultist [[Manly P. Hall]], the founder of the Philosophical Research Society and an early authority on the occult in the 20th century, stated in Horizon magazine that, "during the last 20-25 years I have had considerable personal experience with persons who have complicated their lives through dabbling with the Ouija board. Out of every hundred such cases, at least 95 are worse off for the experience." He went on to say that, "I know of broken homes, estranged families, and even suicides that can be traced directly to this source."<ref> ''Horizon Magazine'', Manly P. Hall, October-December 1944, pages 76-77</ref>
 
These religious objections to use of the Ouija board have given rise to [[ostension]] type [[folklore]] in the communities where they circulate. [[Cautionary tale]]s that the board opens a door to evil spirits turn the game into the subject of a [[supernatural]] dare, especially for young people.<ref name="Brunvand 2006"/>
Many Christians hold the belief that using a Ouija board allows communication with [[demons]], which they say is [[Bible|Biblically]] forbidden as a form of divination.<ref>[http://cicministry.org/commentary/issue83.htm ''Contemporary Christian Divination'', by Bob DeWaay]</ref> Some people who claim to have been oppressed by evil spirits after using a board say that they could only get rid of these problems after Christian deliverance.<ref>''Dialog with a Demon, by Lona Kay''</ref> Many Christians believe that no dead person's soul can be summoned, and that the only summoned spirits are demons who are trying to harm humans.{{Fact|date=February 2007}}
 
==Notable users==
As early as [[1924]], [[Harry Houdini]] wrote that five people from [[Carrito, California|Carrito]], [[California]] were driven insane by using a board.<ref>''A Magician Among the Spirits'', Harry Houdini, Harper, 1924</ref> That same year, [[Carl Wickland|Dr. Carl Wickland]] in his book stated that "the serious problem of alienation and mental derangement attending ignorant psychic experiments was first brought to my attention by cases of several persons whose seemingly harmless experiences with automatic writing and the Ouija board resulted in such wild insanity that commitment to asylums was necessitated."<ref>''Thirty years Among the Dead'', Dr. Carl Wickland, 1934</ref>
{{cleanup list|section|date=October 2020}}
 
===Literature===
The former medical director of the State Insane Asylum of [[New Jersey]], Dr. Curry, stated that the Ouija board was a "dangerous factor" in unbalancing the mind and believed that if their popularity persisted insane asylums would be filled with people who used them.<ref>''Edmund ''The Ouija Board: Doorway to the Occult'', [[Edmund C. Gruss]], Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois 1995 page 75.</ref>
<!-- Note: this section is about literature written, at least partially, by using a Ouija board, not literature about Ouija boards -->
 
Ouija boards have been the source of inspiration for literary works, used as guidance in writing or as a form of [[Mediumship|channeling]] literary works. As a result of Ouija boards' becoming popular in the early 20th century, by the 1920s many "psychic" books were written of varying quality often initiated by Ouija board use.<ref>{{cite book |last=White |first=Stewart Edward |author-link=Stewart Edward White |title=The Betty Book |publisher=E. P. Dutton & CO., Inc. |date=March 1943 |___location=US |pages=14–15 |isbn=0-89804-151-1}}</ref>
Decades later, in [[1965]], [[Parapsychology|parapsychologist]] [[Martin Ebon]] in his book ''Satan Trap: Dangers of the Occult'', states that "it all may start harmlessly enough, perhaps with a Ouija board," which will, "bring startling information... establishing credibility or identifying itself as someone who is dead. It is common that people... as having been 'chosen' for a special task." He continues, "Quite often the Ouija turns vulgar, abusive or threatening. It grows demanding and hostile, and sitters may find themselves using the board compulsively, as if 'possessed' by a spirit, or hearing voices that control or command them."<ref>''Satan Trap: Dangers of the Occult, Martin Ebon</ref>
In her [[1971]] autobiography, the [[psychic]] [[Susy Smith]] said, "Warn people away from Ouija and [[automatic writing]]. I experienced many of the worst problems of such involvement. Had I been forewarned by reading that such efforts might cause one to run the risk of being mentally disturbed, I might have been more wary."<ref>''Confessions of a Psychic'', Susy Smith, 1971</ref>
 
* Emily Grant Hutchings claimed that her novel ''[[Jap Herron: A Novel Written from the Ouija Board]]'' (1917) was dictated by [[Mark Twain]]'s spirit through the use of a Ouija board after his death<ref>{{cite news | date=9 September 1917 | title=Jap Herron. A Novel Written from the Ouija Board | work=The New York Times | department=Book Review Section | type=Book review | page=336 | url=http://www.twainquotes.com/19170909.html | access-date=11 June 2012}}</ref>
Additionally, the late [[Roman Catholic]] priest [[Malachi Martin]] believed talking boards are dangerous and claimed that by using these devices a person opens themselves to demonic oppression or possession, topics upon which Martin spoke and wrote extensively for many years.<ref>''Hostage to the Devil: The Possession and Exorcism of Five Americans'', Malachi Martin, 1976''</ref>
* Pearl Lenore Curran (1883–1937), alleged that for over 20 years she was in contact with a spirit named [[Patience Worth]]. This [[symbiotic]] relationship produced several novels, and works of poetry and prose, which Pearl Curran claimed were delivered to her through channelling Worth's spirit during sessions with a Ouija board, and which works Curran then transcribed
* Much of [[William Butler Yeats]]'s later poetry was inspired, among other facets of occultism, by the Ouija board<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gould |first=Warwick |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7MO-DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA226 |title=Yeats Annual No 7: including Essays in Memory of Richard Ellmann |date=2016-07-27 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-349-07951-3 |language=en}}</ref>
* In late 1963, [[Jane Roberts]] and her husband Robert Butts started experimenting with a Ouija board as part of Roberts' research for a book on [[extra-sensory perception]].<ref>''ESP Power'', by Jane Roberts (2000) (introductory essay by Lynda Dahl). {{ISBN|0-88391-016-0}}</ref> According to Roberts and Butts, on 2 December 1963, they began to receive coherent messages from a male personality (an "energy personality essence no longer focused in the physical world") who eventually identified himself as "Seth", culminating in [[Seth Material|a series of books]] dictated by "Seth"
* In 1982, poet [[James Merrill]] released an [[Apocalypse|apocalyptic]] 560-page [[epic poem]] titled ''[[The Changing Light at Sandover]]'', which documented two decades of messages dictated from the Ouija board during séances hosted by Merrill and his partner [[David Noyes Jackson]]. ''Sandover'', which received the [[National Book Critics Circle Award]] in 1983,<ref name=NBCC>{{cite web |title=All Past National Book Critics Circle Awards Winners and Finalists |url=http://bookcritics.org/awards/past_awards/ |publisher=National Book Critics Circle |access-date=24 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408214249/http://bookcritics.org/awards/past_awards/ |archive-date=8 April 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> was published in three volumes beginning in 1976. The first contained a poem for each of the letters A through Z, and was called ''The Book of Ephraim''. It appeared in the collection ''[[Divine Comedies]]'', which won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1977.<ref name=pulitzer>{{cite web |title=Past winners & finalists by category |url=http://www.pulitzer.org/bycat/Poetry |work=The Pulitzer Prizes |publisher=Pulitzer.org |access-date=6 April 2012}}</ref> According to Merrill, the spirits ordered him to write and publish the next two installments, ''[[Mirabell: Books of Number]]'' in 1978 (which won the [[National Book Award for Poetry]])<ref name=nba1979>{{cite web |url=https://www.nationalbook.org/awards-prizes/national-book-awards-1979 |title=National Book Awards – 1979 |publisher=[[National Book Foundation]] |access-date=6 April 2012}}</ref> and ''Scripts for the Pageant'' in 1980.
 
===Aleister Crowley===
==Literature==
[[Aleister Crowley]] had great admiration for the use of the ouija board and it played a passing role in his magical workings.{{sfn|Cornelius|2005}} [[Jane Wolfe]], who lived with Crowley at [[Abbey of Thelema]], also used the Ouija board. She credits some of her greatest spiritual communications to use of this implement. Crowley also discussed the Ouija board with another of his students, and the most ardent of them, [[Frater Achad]] ([[Charles Stansfeld Jones]]): it is frequently mentioned in their unpublished letters. In 1917 Achad experimented with the board as a means of summoning Angels, as opposed to [[Elemental]]s. In one letter Crowley told Jones:
Talking boards have become an iconic part of culture, demonstrated by their appearances in many books and movies. Their roles in such vary from being a benign object to an evil entity. A more peculiar role of talking boards in literature stems from authors using the board to channel complete written works from the deceased.
 
<blockquote>Your Ouija board experiment is rather fun. You see how very satisfactory it is, but I believe things improve greatly with practice. I think you should keep to one angel, and make the magical preparations more elaborate.</blockquote>
In the early [[1900s]], [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]] housewife [[Pearl Curran]] used her Ouija board communications with the ubiquitous spirit [[Patience Worth]] to publish a number of poems and prose. Pearl claimed that all of the writings came to her through séances, which she allowed the public to attend. In [[1917]] writer [[Emily G. Hutchings]] claimed to have communicated with and written a book dictated by [[Mark Twain]] from her Ouija board. Twain's living descendants went to court to halt publication of the book that was later determined a hoax.
 
Over the years, both became so fascinated by the board that they discussed marketing their own design. Their discourse culminated in a letter, dated 21 February 1919, in which Crowley tells Jones,
Since the [[1970s]], author [[Seth Jane Roberts|Jane Roberts]] has transcribed text [[channeling|channeled]] from what she described as an "energy personality essence" named Seth. Topics attributed to Seth discuss the nature of physical reality, the origins of the [[universe]], the theory of [[evolution]], the [[many-worlds interpretation]], the [[Christ]] story, and the purpose of life among other subjects and form a collection of more than 10 books and a number of videos and audio recordings.
 
<blockquote>Re: Ouija Board. I offer you the basis of ten percent of my net profit. You are, if you accept this, responsible for the legal protection of the ideas, and the marketing of the copyright designs. I trust that this may be satisfactory to you. I hope to let you have the material in the course of a week.</blockquote>
Author [[John Fuller]] used a Ouija board in his research for his 1976 book ''[[The Ghost of Flight 401]]''. As he was skeptical of its effectiveness, he worked with a [[Medium (spirituality)|medium]] and claimed they both contacted [[Don Repo]], the flight engineer on the flight which crashed into the Everglades ''en route'' to Miami. According to Fuller, the information divined described facts that neither he nor the medium previously knew.
 
In March, Crowley wrote to Achad to inform him, "I'll think up another name for Ouija". But their business venture never came to fruition and Crowley's new design, along with his name for the board, has not survived. Crowley has stated, of the Ouija Board, that{{sfn|Cornelius|2005}}
More recently, [[Pulitzer Prize]] winning poet [[James Merrill]] used a Ouija board and recorded what he claimed were messages from a number of deceased persons. He combined these messages with his own poetry in ''[[The Changing Light at Sandover]]'' ([[1982]]).
 
<blockquote>There is, however, a good way of using this instrument to get what you want, and that is to perform the whole operation in a consecrated circle, so that undesirable aliens cannot interfere with it. You should then employ the proper magical invocation in order to get into your circle just the one spirit you want. It is comparatively easy to do this. A few simple instructions are all that is necessary, and I shall be pleased to give these, free of charge, to any one who cares to apply.</blockquote>
==Ouija in popular culture==
* In the movie ''[[Awakenings (film)|Awakenings]]'', encephalitis patient Leonard Lowe communicates a message to Dr. Malcolm Sayer through the use of a Ouija board.
* In the movie ''[[The Exorcist (film)|The Exorcist]]'', a young girl uses a Ouija board to contact a spirit called Captain Howdy (actually an ancient demon named [[Pazuzu]] who soon possesses her).
* In the movie ''[[Long Time Dead]]'', a group of friends accidentally unleash a demon by playing with a Ouija board. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire/entertainment/films_and_tv/marcusadams.shtml] [http://www.bbc.co.uk/leicester/entertainment/movies/2002_01/18/long_time_dead.shtml] [http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2002/01/15/long_time_dead_2002_review.shtml]
* In the 1994 movie ''[[Only You (1994 film)|Only You]]'', Faith learns the name of "her soulmate" while playing on a Ouija board with her brother.
* In the film ''[[What Lies Beneath]]'', a character played by [[Michelle Pfeiffer]] uses a Ouija Board, believing it will help her to communicate with spirits that are haunting her home.
* In the movie ''[[Witchboard]]'', a woman is harassed by an evil spirit after she ignores warnings not to use a Ouija board while alone.
* In the TV series ''[[Charmed]]'', a Ouija board is often used to communicate with spirits. In the first episode, the sisters discover they are witches after using a Ouija board found in the attic of their home.
* In an episode of ''[[Futurama]]'', upon hearing that [[Leela]] believed she could contact the dead, [[Professor Farnsworth]] told her that her head might be "acting as a five-pound Ouija board".
* In an episode of ''[[Supernatural (TV series)|Supernatural]]'', Sam uses a Ouija board to contact Dean's spirit.
* In an episode of ''[[Aqua Teen Hunger Force]]'', Shake commits suicide in order to enter Meatwad's ''Video Ouija'' game so that he can terrorize him.
* In an issue of ''[[Simpsons Comics]]'', [[Bart Simpson|Bart]] goes to a camp and raises spirits with a Ouija board.
* [[Morrissey]] sings a song called "Ouija board, Ouija board."
* In the [[Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game]], the "Destiny Board" cards feature an Ouija board. In the anime, [[Bakura Ryo|Bakura]] used these cards in his duel against [[Yugi Muto|Yugi]] in the [[Battle City (Yu-Gi-Oh!)|Battle City Finals]].
* In an episode of ''[[Kyle XY]]'', Kyle uses a Ouija board to figure out his birthday.
* The use of a Ouija board is a key plot point in the Egyptian horror movie ''Ouija''.
* In [[Steve Berman]]'s young adult novel ''Vintage: A Ghost Story'', the narrator uses a Ouija board to contact several dead boys.
* The hip-hop/rap group [[Bone Thugs N Harmony]] have several references to "Mr. Ouija" in their songs.
* In Stephen King's novel ''[[The Stand]]'', the character Nadine Cross uses a Ouija board to receive instructions from [[Randall Flagg]].
* In an episode of ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'', a patient gets sick after a Ouija board tells him he will die.
* [[Calvin and Hobbes]] use a Ouija board to ask whether Calvin may become President. The Ouija board answers, "God forbid".
* In an episode of ''[[The A-Team]]'', Murdock uses a Ouija board to communicate with the spirit world for advice.
* In the movie ''[[Stormbreaker (movie)|Stormbreaker]]'', Alan Blunt claims the British Government would sooner trust a Ouija board than [[Secret Intelligence Service|British Intelligence]].
* In an episode of ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'', police officers try to use a Ouija board to solve crimes. The board returns the message "U-P Y-O-U-R-S", to which one officer responds, "What a rude Ouija board!"
 
===Others===
==Derived uses of the name==
In the technique of [[directional drilling]], a mechanical calculator was used to perform calculations necessary to solve "how do I get 'there' from 'here'" problems. This calculator has traditionally been nicknamed a "Ouija Board." The calculations are now done by computers, but the name persists as a public or internal name of the relevant module.
 
* [[Exorcism of Roland Doe|Roland Doe]] used a Ouija board, which the [[Catholic Church]] stated led to his [[demonic possession|possession by a demon]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Heiney |first=James J. |chapter=Demonic possession | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KuTNEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA305 |page=305 |editor-last1=Fee|editor-first1=Christopher R.|editor-last2=Webb|editor-first2=Jeffrey B.|title=American Myths, Legends, and Tall Tales: An Encyclopedia of American Folklore|date=29 August 2016|publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]] |language=en | isbn=978-1-61069-568-8}}</ref>
In US Navy, "ouija board" is an informal term for the scale model of an [[aircraft carrier]] [[flight deck]] used by flight launch and recovery officers as a visual aid to manage launch and recovery stacking of aircraft on the flight deck.
* [[Dick Brooks (entertainer)|Dick Brooks]], of the [[Houdini Museum]] in [[Scranton, Pennsylvania]], uses a Ouija board as part of a paranormal and seance presentation<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.psychictheater.com/ |publisher=psychictheater.com |title=Psych Theater}}</ref>
* [[G. K. Chesterton]] used a Ouija board in his teenage years
** Around 1893, he had gone through a crisis of scepticism and depression, and during this period Chesterton experimented with the Ouija board and grew fascinated with the occult<ref>{{cite book |last=Chesterton |first=G.K. |title=Autobiography |pages=77ff |date=2006 |publisher=Ignatius Press |isbn=1586170716}}</ref>
* [[Bill W.|Bill Wilson]], the co-founder of [[Alcoholics Anonymous]], used a Ouija board and conducted seances in attempts to contact the dead<ref>{{cite book |last=Raphael |first=Matthew J. |title=Bill W. and Mr. Wilson: The Legend and Life of A. A.'s Cofounder |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mj4sI04-uMkC&pg=PA159 |access-date=24 August 2011 |date=2002 |publisher=University of Massachusetts Press |isbn=978-1-55849-360-5 |page=159}}</ref>
* Early press releases stated that Vincent Furnier's stage and band name "[[Alice Cooper]]" was agreed upon after a session with a Ouija board, during which it was revealed that Furnier was the reincarnation of a 17th-century witch with that name. Alice Cooper later revealed that he just thought of the first name that came to his head while discussing a new band name with his band<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.therockradio.com/alice-cooper/biography.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051223222146/http://www.therockradio.com/alice-cooper/biography.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=23 December 2005 |work=The Rock Radio |title=Alice Cooper Biography}}</ref>
* Former Italian Prime Minister [[Romano Prodi]] claimed under oath that, in a [[séance]] held in 1978 with other professors at the [[University of Bologna]], the "ghost" of [[Giorgio La Pira]] used a Ouija to spell the name of the street where [[Aldo Moro]] was being held by the [[Red Brigades]]
** According to Peter Popham of ''[[The Independent]]'': "Everybody here has long believed that Prodi's Ouija board tale was no more than an ill-advised and bizarre way to conceal the identity of his true source, probably a person from Bologna's seething [[far-left]] underground whom he was pledged to protect."<ref>{{cite news |last=Popham |first=Peter |date=2 December 2005 |title=The seance that came back to haunt Romano Prodi |work=[[The Independent]] |url=http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article330676.ece |access-date=3 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080106095635/http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article330676.ece |archive-date=6 January 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* [[The Mars Volta]] wrote their album ''[[Bedlam in Goliath]]'' (2008) based on their alleged experiences with a Ouija board
** According to their story (written for them by a fiction author, Jeremy Robert Johnson), [[Omar Rodriguez Lopez]] purchased one while traveling in Jerusalem. At first the board provided a story which became the theme for the album. Strange events allegedly related to this activity occurred during the recording of the album: the studio flooded, one of the album's main engineers had a nervous breakdown, equipment began to malfunction, and [[Cedric Bixler-Zavala]]'s foot was injured. Following these bad experiences the band buried the Ouija board<ref>{{cite news |url=http://alarm-magazine.com/2007/the-bedlam-in-goliath-offers-weird-ouija-tale-of-the-mars-volta/ |title=The Bedlam in Goliath Offers Weird Ouija Tale of The Mars Volta |work=Alarm Magazine |year=2007}}</ref>
* In the murder trial of Joshua Tucker, his mother insisted that he had carried out the murders while possessed by [[the Devil]], who found him when he was using a Ouija board<ref>{{cite news |last=Horton |first=Paula |title=Teen gets 41 years in Benton City slayings |work=Tri-City Herald | publisher=McClatchy |date=15 March 2008 |url=http://mydeathspace.com/vb/showthread.php?6998-Elizabeth-Schalchlin-s-(13)-throat-was-slashed-by-Joshua-Tucker-(16)&p=2378811&viewfull=1#post2378811}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Horton |first=Paula |title=Mom says son influenced by Satan on day of Benton City slayings |publisher=McClatchy |date=26 January 2008 |url=https://boxden.com/showthread.php?p=11331972#post11331972}}</ref>
* In London in 1994, convicted murderer Stephen Young was granted a retrial after it was learned that four of the jurors had conducted a Ouija board séance and had "contacted" the murdered man, who had named Young as his killer.<ref>{{cite news |last=Mills |first=Heather |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/retrial-order-in-ouija-case-1444806.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220524/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/retrial-order-in-ouija-case-1444806.html |archive-date=24 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Retrial order in 'Ouija case' |work=The Independent |date=25 October 1994 |access-date=11 June 2012}}</ref> Young was convicted for a second time at his retrial and jailed for life<ref>{{cite journal |last=Spencer |first=J.R. |title=Seances, and the Secrecy of the Jury–Room |journal=The Cambridge Law Journal |volume=54|number=3 |date=November 1995 |pages=519–522 |jstor=4508123 |doi=10.1017/S0008197300097282|s2cid=144881338 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4197207.stm |title=Jury deliberations may be studied |work=[[BBC News]] |date=22 January 2005 |access-date=11 June 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title='Ouija board' appeal dismissed |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/southern_counties/4076927.stm |work=[[BBC News]] |access-date=18 October 2012 |date=7 December 2004}}</ref>
* [[E. H. Jones (author)|E. H. Jones]] and [[C. W. Hill]], whilst prisoners of the Turks during the [[First World War]], used a Ouija board to convince their captors that they were mediums as part of an escape plan<ref>{{cite DWB |last=Jones |first=Emyr Gwynne |date=2001 |id=s2-JONE-HEN-1883 |title=Jones, Elias Henry |language=en}}</ref>
 
== In popular culture ==
Higher-end models of [[Garmin]] consumer [[Global Positioning System|GPS]] units use a pop-up [[alphanumeric]] selection matrix for text entry, which is commonly referred to as the "Ouija Board." A rocker button is used to move around the board, highlighting the currently selected letter or number.
[[File:Ouija Board ~ Austin, Texas.jpg|thumb|right|Ouija board painted on a two-story building in downtown [[Austin, Texas]]]]
 
Ouija boards have figured prominently in horror tales in various media as devices enabling malevolent spirits to spook their users.
[[Weegee]] was the [[pseudonym]] of [[United States|America]]n [[photojournalism|photojournalist]] [[Arthur Fellig]].
 
In the 1919 American comedy film ''[[When the Clouds Roll By]]'', [[Douglas Fairbanks]] asks his board: "Ouija - can two live as cheaply as one?"
==Notable users==
 
In the 1960 supernatural horror film ''[[13 Ghosts]]'' the Zorba family plays the game "Ouija, the mystifying oracle".
[[GK Chesterton]] used a Ouija board. Around [[1893]] he had gone through a crisis of skepticism and depression, and during this period Chesterton experimented with the Ouija board and grew fascinated with the occult. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/greatlives/ingrams_chesterton.shtml]
 
Episodes of ''[[Lost in Space]]'' ("Ghost in Space" (1966)) and ''[[The Waltons]]'' ("The Ghost Story" (1974)) have spirit boards as part of their plots.
[[Aleister Crowley]] advocated the use of Ouija boards, and they played a major role in many of his [[magick|magickal]] workings. <ref>Cornelious, J. Edward ''[[Aleister Crowley and the Ouija Board]].'' [[2005]] ISBN 1-932595-10-4</ref> <ref>Mini site for Cornelious, J. Edward’s book, ''[[Aleister Crowley and the Ouija Board]]'', http://feralhouse.com/press/mini_sites/ouija/ </ref>
 
A Ouija board is an early part of the plot of the 1973 horror film [[The Exorcist (film)|''The Exorcist'']]. Using a Ouija board the young girl Regan makes what first appears to be harmless contact with an entity named "Captain Howdy". She later becomes possessed by a demon.
Poet [[James Merrill]] used a Ouija board for years, and even encouraged entrance of spirits into his body. He wrote the poem ''The Changing Light at Sandover'' with the help of a Ouija board. Before he died, he recommended people not to use Ouija boards.<ref>''Ouija: The Most Dangerous Game'', Stoker Hunt, Chapter 6, pages 44-50.</ref>
 
Based on Ouija Board, a song and album of the name, ''[[Ojah Awake]]'', by [[Osibisa]], was released in 1976.
Italian Prime Minister [[Romano Prodi]] held a séance in 1978 with other professors at the University of Bologna in which a Ouija board spelled the word Gradoli. This turned out to be the name of a street in Rome where a [[Red Brigades]] safe house was located. <ref>[http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20051202/ai_n15907526 The London Independent, by Peter Popham, December 2, 2005]</ref>
 
The 1986 film ''[[Witchboard]]'' and its sequels center on the use of Ouija. The 1991 film ''[[And You Thought Your Parents Were Weird]]'' features use of a Ouija board in an important early scene. ''[[What Lies Beneath]]'' (2000) includes a [[séance]] scene with a board. ''[[Paranormal Activity]]'' (2007) involves a violent entity haunting a couple that becomes more powerful when the Ouija board is used.
[[Alice Cooper]] claims to have to have used a Ouija Board to come up with his band name, as has the band [[Cheap Trick]].
 
Since the early 1990s, [[Metallica]] guitarist [[Kirk Hammett]] has used several guitars featuring Ouija board graphics on the body of the guitar itself. These have been produced by both [[ESP Guitars|ESP]] and their subsidiary LTD.<ref>{{cite web | title=The Spooky History of Kirk Hammett's ESP Ouija Design | url=https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/articles/features/the_spooky_history_of_kirk_hammetts_esp_ouija_design-134062 }}</ref>
The investigators of ''[[Most Haunted]]'' have been known to use Ouija Boards.
 
''[[Aparichithan]]'' (The Stranger) is a 2004 Indian Malayalam-language horror film. The plot centers around a Ouija board and spiritualism.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}}
==See also==
[[Ka-Bala]]
 
Another 2007 film, ''[[Ouija (2007 film)|Ouija]]'', depicted a group of adolescents whose use of the board causes a murderous spirit to follow them. In 2011, ''The Ouija Experiment'' portrayed a group of friends whose use of the board opens, and fails to close, a portal between the worlds of the living and the dead.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.phase4films.com/Details.aspx?projectId=f38a1070-3e46-e311-bba7-d4ae527c3b65 |title=The Ouija Experiment |date=n.d. |access-date=23 September 2015|website=Phase 4 Films |publisher=Phase 4 Films Inc.}}</ref> The 2012 film ''[[I Am Zozo]]'' follows a group of people that run afoul of a demon, based on [[Pazuzu]], after using a Ouija board.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Hallam|first=Scott A.|date=6 October 2011 |title=Teaser Trailer Arrives for Ouija Thriller I Am ZoZo|url=http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/47759/teaser-trailer-arrives-ouija-thriller-i-am-zozo|website=[[Dread Central]] |access-date=12 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007111508/http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/47759/teaser-trailer-arrives-ouija-thriller-i-am-zozo |archive-date=2011-10-07 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The 2014 film ''[[Ouija (2014 film)|Ouija]]'' features a group of friends whose use of the board prompts a series of deaths.<ref>{{cite news |work=Rotten Tomatoes |title=The Ouija Experiment (2014) |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ouija_2014/}}</ref> A 2016 prequel, ''[[Ouija: Origin of Evil]]'', also features the device.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}}
==Books==
 
* Cornelious, J. Edward ''[[Aleister Crowley|Aleister Crowley and the Ouija Board]].'' [[2005]] ISBN 1-932595-10-4 [http://feralhouse.com/press/mini_sites/ouija/]
''[[Romancham]]'' (Goosebumps) is a 2023 Malayalam-language horror-comedy film. The plot involves several bachelors from [[Bangalore]] who improvise a Ouija board from a [[Carrom]] game.<ref name="Anand">{{Cite news |last=Anand |first=Shilpa Nair |date=2023-02-18 |title='Romancham' is based on a real-life incident that I experienced: Malayalam director Jithu Madhavan |language=en-IN |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/romancham-is-inspired-by-real-life-experiences-says-director-jithu-madhavan/article66515373.ece |access-date=2023-09-17 |issn=0971-751X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Film is inspired by events from my life: 'Romancham' director - The New Indian Express |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/kochi/2023/Feb/15/film-is-inspired-by-events-from-my-life-romancham-director-2547451.html |access-date=2023-12-02 |website=www.newindianexpress.com|date=7 February 2023 }}</ref>
* [[Edmond C. Gruss|Gruss, Edmond C.]] ''The Ouija Board: A Doorway to the Occult'' [[1994]] ISBN 0-87552-247-5
 
* Hunt, Stoker. ''Ouija: The Most Dangerous Game.'' [[1992]] ISBN 0-06-092350-4
The British singer [[Morrissey]] released a controversial single titled "[[Ouija Board, Ouija Board]]" in 1989. The lyrics and the video of the song mockingly play with the idea of supernaturally contacting dead persons.{{Citation needed|date=October 2023}}
 
The rap group [[Bone Thugs-n-Harmony]] referenced Ouija on their [[Horrorcore]] albums ''[[Creepin on ah Come Up]]'' and ''[[E. 1999 Eternal]]'', having been inspired by seeing the board at [[Toys "R" Us]].<ref>{{cite web |author1-link=Layzie Bone |title=Layzie Bone opens up about the crack era, ouija boards, and the days before Bone Thugs. |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VKiVVTDbm4 |website=youtube.com |publisher=Tru Headz |language=en |format=video |date=30 October 2021}}</ref>
 
Jeremy Gans' 2017 nonfiction book, ''The Ouija Board Jurors: Mystery, Mischief and Misery in the Jury System'', based on an article he wrote for the University of Melbourne,<ref name="Gans 2017">{{cite news |last=Gans |first=Jeremy |date=2017-10-03 |title=Trial by Ouija Board: When jurors misbehave |url=https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/trial-by-ouija-board-when-jurors-misbehave |access-date=2022-05-12 |work=Pursuit |publisher=University of Melbourne |language=en}}</ref> recounts an incident in which four jurors sought the help of a Ouija board during a double murder trial, both for guidance and to relieve the stress precipitated by the brutal images of evidence.<ref name="Gans 2017" />
 
The National Geographic show ''[[Brain Games (National Geographic)|Brain Games]]'' Season 5 episode "Paranormal" clearly showed the board did not work when all participants were blindfolded.<ref>{{Cite episode <!-- |host=Jason Silva--> <!-- | director=Michael Nigro --> | author-last1=Davis |author-first1=Adam 'Tex' |author-last2=Kolber |author-first2=Jerry |author-last3=Young |author-first3=Julia |title=Paranormal |series=Brain Games |season=5 |number=5 |air-date=February 9, 2015 |network=National Geographic Channel |url=https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2wu5ot}} [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4437704/ IMDB].</ref>
 
The sitcom ''[[Steptoe and Son]]'' in [[List of Steptoe and Son episodes|Series 8 Episode 6]], includes a scene with a Ouija board where Harold briefly fools Albert into believing that they are in contact with the ghost of [[Adolf Hitler]].<ref>{{cite episode |author-last1=Galton |author-first1=Ray |author-last2=Simpson |author-first2=Alan <!-- |director=Douglas Argent --> |title=Seance in a Wet Rag and Bone Yard |series=Steptoe and Son| season=8 |number=6 |air-date=10 October 1974 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p031d23j}} [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0710106/ IMDB]. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEqWhaWUQak YouTube]. [https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6tqar7 DailyMotion].</ref>
 
Ouija boards appear in the video game ''[[Phasmophobia (video game)|Phasmophobia]]'' as an item investigators can use to communicate with the ghost, although using it can prove dangerous.
 
''Ouija Board'' ( ওইজা বোর্ড ) is a [[Bangladesh]]i television drama directed by [[Humayun Ahmed]] and starring [[Bipasha Hayat]], [[Shila Ahmed]], Al Monsoor, [[Dilara Zaman]], [[Abul Hayat]] and others.
 
The novel [[The Stand]] by [[Stephen King]] features a Ouija board (referred to only as a planchette) as a plot device.
 
==See also==
* {{annotated link|Alien hand syndrome}}
* {{annotated link|Automatic writing}}
* {{annotated link|Bicameral mentality}}
* {{annotated link|Bunshinsaba (2004 film)|''Bunshinsaba'' (2004 film)}}
* {{annotated link|Charlie Charlie challenge}}
* {{annotated link|Divided consciousness}}
* {{annotated link|Dowsing}}
* {{annotated link|Dual consciousness}}
* {{annotated link|Fuji (planchette writing)}}
* {{annotated link|Gope boards}}
* {{annotated link|Ideomotor phenomenon}}
* {{annotated link|Kokkuri|''Kokkuri''}}
* {{annotated link|Left brain interpreter}}
* [[List of topics characterized as pseudoscience]]
* {{annotated link|O-mikuji|''O-mikuji''}}
* {{annotated link|Planchette}}
* {{annotated link|Tengenjutsu (fortune telling)|''Tengenjutsu'' (fortune telling)}}
 
==Notes==
{{Reflist}}
<div class="references-small">
<references/>
</div>
 
== External linksReferences==
* {{cite book | last=Cain | first=D. Lynn | title=Ouija: For the Record | publisher=Author | date=2010-12-10 | isbn=978-0-557-15871-3}}
====External links of sites with information on talking boards====
* {{cite journal |last=Carpenter |first=William Benjamin |author-link=William Benjamin Carpenter |date=12 March 1852 | title=On the Influence of Suggestion in Modifying and directing Muscular Movement, independently of Volition | journal=Notices of the Proceedings at the Meetings of the Members of the Royal Institution of Great Britain |publisher=[[Royal Institution]] | volume=1 |number=10 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wVFJAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA147 |pages=147–153}}
* [http://www.paralumun.com/ouijaboard.htm Paralumun]
* {{cite book | last=Cornelius | first=J. Edward | title=Aleister Crowley and the Ouija Board | publisher=[[Feral House]] | publication-place=Los Angeles, Calif | date=2005 | isbn=978-1-932595-10-9}}
* {{cite book | last=Gruss | first=Edmond C. | title=The Ouija Board: A Doorway to the Occult | publisher=P & R Publishing | publication-place=Phillipsburg, NJ | date=1994 | isbn=0-87552-247-5}}
* {{cite book | last=Hunt | first=Stoker | title=Ouija: The Most Dangerous Game | publisher=Harper Collins | date=1992-10-23 | isbn=0-06-092350-4}}
* {{cite book | last=Hill | first=Joe | title=Heart-Shaped Box: A Novel | publisher=HarperCollins | date=13 February 2007 | isbn=978-0-06-114793-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=siZwMaofemcC}}
* {{cite magazine |last=Murch |first=R. |title=A Brief History of the Ouija Board |magazine=[[Fortean Times]] |number=249 |date=June 2009 |pages=32–33}}
* {{cite magazine |last=Schneck |first=R. D. |title=Ouija Madness |magazine=Fortean Times |number=249 |date=June 2009 |pages=30–37}}
 
==External links==
{{Commons category}}
;Information on talking boards
* [http://www.museumoftalkingboards.com/ Museum Of Talking Boards]
* [http://www.williamfuld.com/ The Official Website of William Fuld and home of the Ouija board]
* [http://www.talkingboard2u.com/talking-board-related-names.php Related Names for Talking Board]
* [http://ouija.witchboards.net/ Witchboard World]
* [http://www.paranormality.com/ouija_board.shtml Paranormality A-Z Paranormal Phenomena]
 
;Skeptics
====External links skeptical of talking boards====
* [http://www.skepdic.com/ouija.html The Skeptics' Dictionary: Ouija]
* [http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090711013541/http://www.randi.org/encyclopedia/Ouija%20board.html ''An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural'']
* ''[httphttps://www.straightdope.com/mailbag21342940/mouija.htmlhow-does-a-ouija-board-work ''How does a Ouija board work?]''] from [[The Straight Dope]]
* [http://www.vnutz.com/articles/do_ouija_boards_work_the_fact_and_fiction ''Do Ouija Boards Work – The Fact and Fiction'']
 
====External links critical of talking boards====
* [http://www.evangelicaloutreach.org/ouija.htm Evangelical Outreach "Dangers of Ouija Boards"]
* [http://www.yourgoingtohell.com/ouija.html Ouija Boards Are Evil] -- religious site
* [http://www.spiritdaily.org/Spiritual-War-Angels/Ouija%20Board%20and%20defenseless%20church.htm New York City Cop Points Out Dangers Of Ouija Board]
* [http://www.geocities.com/ouijaboardsareevil/Ouija.html Ouija Board Website]
 
;Other
====Other External links====
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/southern_counties/4076927.stm {{"'}}Ouija board' appeal (against second guilty verdict) dismissed" – R. v. Young (1995)]
* [httphttps://www.bbc.co.uk/leicester/videonation/archive/a_f/clare_randall_ouija_board.shtml BBC video on Ouija Board] [http://www.bbc.co.uk/leicester/videonation/archive/a_f/clare_randall_haunted_castle.shtml]
* [http://www.frieze.com/review_single.asp?r=2523 ‘Automatic Drawing Brought Forth through the Ouija Board’]
*[http://blanchedavidian.com/media/lyrics/ouija.html Lyrics to 'Ouija Boredom' by Blanche Davidian]
*[http://www.milliondollarpsychics.com/ouija.html Online Spirit Board]
 
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